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Lauren

NIU

I lived in an apartment across the street from Neptune North Hall and Cole Hall. I was leaving my apartment for class when I saw people running out from behind the Student Center. Everyone on the street including myself was corralled into a nearby building. People were crying and praying. I couldn’t call out on my cell phone, because so many people were trying to call as well at the same time. I just couldn’t be in that room anymore, so I snuck out a side door that said an alarm would sound if I opened it. I figured all the alarms were going off anyways. I walked through a small wooded area behind the building to get back to the street my apartment was on. When I was almost home, I saw one of my friends wandering blank faced in the streets. He walking past Cole Hall when it happened. He came back to my place with me, and we watched the news. He was super shaken up. He kept saying that he thought he walked through blood and that he thought it was on his shoes. I didn’t see any blood, but I wiped them off anyways. It made him feel better. After a few hours, our other friends started coming over since the apartment was so close to campus. I was glad to not be alone.